Cyril Ramaphosa: South Africa supports the struggle of Western Sahara for freedom and self-determination

SPS18/07/2019 - 19:24

Cape Town (South Africa), July 18, 2019 (SPS)- The President of South Africa, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, reiterated the support of his country to the legitimate struggle of Saharawi people for freedom and self-determination, in his address yesterday before the South African Parliament to present the Presidency budget vote for 2019-2020.

“Support for the struggles of nations that still suffer under the yoke of oppression is an integral part of our foreign policy. We reaffirm our support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, and for the struggle of the people of the Western Sahara.” Cyril Ramaphosa says in his address on the Presidency Budget Vote 2019/2020

The South African President detailed the various levels of priorities adopted by his government, and stressed the important role South Africa is planning to play at the African level, especially that he will be chairing the African Union next year.

At the level of the UN, South Africa is a Non-Permanent Member of the Security Council, therefore, if will continue playing its role “advocating for greater multilateralism, for a more equitable global order; for a reform of the UN Security Council and we are actively opposing acts of aggression against smaller nations as well as regime change,” he says.

This includes of course the Moroccan regime invasion and occupation of Western Sahara, but also the Israeli aggression and occupation of Palestine, which are the two main issues South Africa is committed to.

In this regards, President Ramaphosa confirmed that the “support for the struggles of nations that still suffer under the yoke of oppression is an integral part of our foreign policy,” reiterating that “freedom of some is freedom for none.”

South Africa he affirms is set to play its appropriate role in the African arena, and will be “championing the agenda of peace and development on the continent both at an AU and SADC level.” SPS